The Danger of Talking Fatwa Online

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

Significance of Fatwa & Islamic Rulings

By Sheikh Muhammad Abdul-Azeez AMJA Shari`a Researcher

Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family members, companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

Many voices and much talk have been raised recently demanding making a law that prohibits issuing Islamic rulings (Fatawa) except from professional and specialized Fiqh and Shari`ah scholars, in order to control chaos that hit the Islamic Fatwa forum deep lately.

The Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA) is a pioneer authority in issuing its first publications about this critical topic, like: "The Responsibility of the Shari`ah Fatwa: Controls and Implications on the Rationality of the Ummah", by Professor Dr. Muhamad Duad Al-Barazy; and about "The Gentleman Agreement on the Fatwa and Fatwa Requesting", by Prof. Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, AMJA Secretary-General.

It is sufficient for a Muslim who would dare to issue Fatwa rulings, as a deterrent and a restraint from delving into this critical realm, to read Allah`s saying in this regard: "But say not for any false thing that your tongues may put forth, this is lawful, and this is forbidden, so as to ascribe false things to God. for those who ascribe false things to God, will never prosper. (In such falsehood) is but a paltry profit; but they will have a most grievous penalty", (Quran, 16:116-117).

Issuing Fatwa and Islamic rulings without knowledge could be compared to committing implicit and explicit grave sins, as Allah says: "Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; since and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to God, for which he hath given no authority; and saying things about God of which ye have no knowledge", (Quran, 7:33).

Giving Fatwa without knowledge could be deadly and fatal, for both the one who would issue it, as it happened with the Muslim monk who ruled to a murderer who killed 99 people that his repentance would not be accepted by Allah, and he killed him to complete the 100 number; and for the one who would request it, as it happened with a man who had a deep cut in his head, and he had a wet dream, and asked his friends if they knew an excuse for him to dry-wash for purity, and they denied it to him and urged him to fully wash with water, and he did, which caused him to die. When Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah knew of this story, he said: "They have killed him, may Allah kill them…", (Reported by Abou-Dawoud in his book: Sunnan).

Yes, to this limit could a Fatwa be very critical to the individual and to the whole Ummah, and for this reason, Abdul-Rahman Ben Abi-Layeila says: "I knew 120 of Al-Anssaar people, who were companions of the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and that one of them would ask another to give a Fatwa ruling, and he would refer him to the other, and the other to the next, etc, until the question returns back to the first one without being answered". And in another narrative: "They all would have liked to talk with each other, except daring to talk about Fatwa giving".

Al-Shu`abei; Al-Hasan; And Abul-Houssein said: "You dare to give Fatwa, but if it is referred to Omar, he would have gathered for answering it all the people who have witnessed the Battle of Badr".

Lo! How these great men valued the gravity of Fatwa giving, and how did they esteemed its status in their judgments! For this reason, they controlled the whole wide world!

Here is a list of literature that would further the knowledge about the rules and manners of Fatwa issuance:

• Responsibility of Shari`ah Fatwa: Controls & Implications on the Rationality of the Ummah, by Prof. Dr. Muhamad Fuad Al-Barazy.
• Manners of the Mufti and the One Who Requests Fatwa, by Ben Hamdan.
• Manners of the Mufti and the One Who Requests Fatwa, by Ben Al-Salah.
• `Ilaam Al-Muaqe`een `An Rab Al-`Aalameen, by Ben Al-Qaiyyem.

Prayers, blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family members, companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

Sheikh Muhammad Abdul-Azeez AMJA Shari`a Researcher

[Pk_#2]

Yup,

I think that's a great idea. Seeing as we all fink we know it these days, but little do we know.. :(

May Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) forgive us. Ameen

JazakAllah khair for sharing.

AsalamuALaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

[ummzayd]

:sl:

Subhan'Allah!

very beneficial post, thank you brother.

:w:

[niler]

very very true brother thanx alot!!
av been telling people that but they are heedless at least now i can mention the two ayahs as proof and inshaAllah someone somewhere will take heed.

Shukran Jazeela. may Allah reward u.

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[Malaikah]

:sl:

That was good, but I fail to see the connection with online fatwa...?

[Ebtisweetsam]

Sometimes we forget the danger of giving a fatwa. We should always try to not be know-it-alls, and rather be the, 'i'll-get-back-to-you' type.
Allahu' A'lam

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

:sl:

That was good, but I fail to see the connection with online fatwa...?

:w:

It was in regards to regular people who go around saying on forums, "I think this is Haram", "This is halal", "You can't do this", etc when they aren't scholars. They're basically giving Fatwa when they say that and that's what the article's warning against.

It wasn't talking about getting actual proper Fatawa from sites (i.e. IslamToday etc) where scholars answer the questions.

Allaahu Alam.

[Woodrow]

:w:

we have all become too complacent and and often assume that because we read something online, it must be true. Sadly, the internet is a media, like all media it is only as accurate as the author. Because we read something on the internet, does not mean it is true.

We each have a responsibility to verify all we read and when we site something as fact we need to be able to give verifiable reference.

If something is simply our own opinion, we need to say that also. Opinions are fine, but people need to know it is our opinion. In my honest opinion.

[snakelegs]

:w:

It was in regards to regular people who go around saying on forums, "I think this is Haram", "This is halal", "You can't do this", etc when they aren't scholars. They're basically giving Fatwa when they say that and that's what the article's warning against.

It wasn't talking about getting actual proper Fatawa from sites (i.e. IslamToday etc) where scholars answer the questions.

Allaahu Alam.

don't you think people know the difference between people saying "i think this is haram", etc. and an actual fatwa from a scholar? i think it would be obvious that such opinions are not fatwas.

[Malaikah]

^True snakelegs, but they are actually sinful for doing so.

[snakelegs]

i didn't know that.
so if a girl wants to know if it's ok to have a boyfriend and people say "no it is not" - even though islam's position on this is commonly known - they are committing a sin?
i could see it when it comes to areas of fiqh that are less clear or less widely known, but there are certain things that come up again and again.

[Woodrow]

i didn't know that.
so if a girl wants to know if it's ok to have a boyfriend and people say "no it is not" - even though islam's position on this is commonly known - they are committing a sin?
i could see it when it comes to areas of fiqh that are less clear or less widely known, but there are certain things that come up again and again.

far better to quote a hadith or ayyat than to simply say so without reference. That way you show it is not your opinion and it is up to the reader to see that is what is said.

[snakelegs]

far better to quote a hadith or ayyat than to simply say so without reference. That way you show it is not your opinion and it is up to the reader to see that is what is said.

i see your point, but is it actually a sin if someone says something that is widely known, as in the example i gave?

[Malaikah]

i didn't know that.
so if a girl wants to know if it's ok to have a boyfriend and people say "no it is not" - even though islam's position on this is commonly known - they are committing a sin?
i could see it when it comes to areas of fiqh that are less clear or less widely known, but there are certain things that come up again and again.

I think you misunderstood... it was referring to people who say something is haram or halal when they don't actually know that is true.

With your example, they are repeating something that they know is true, because they heard it from scholars, but what we are referring to is someone saying so and so is haram even though he has never heard a scholar or knowledgeable person say so. So he is making it up himself.

Hope that makes sense! :)

[snakelegs]

yes it does. thanks, malaikah.

[Najm]

AsSalamOAlaikum WaRehmatuAllah WaBarkatuhu

Woah!!! Have to be careful :-[

FiAmaaniAllah

[Abdul Qadir]

sometimes, having no knowledge is better than having little knowledge...

[al Iskander]

:sl:

Better is to say " I don't know". Wa Allah'ullem .
:sl:

[shaiksadik]

Fatwa make iman weak but also required when it is most neceassary. it should be only from well know scholar with some supporting Verses and Hadith

[mht]

I cannot agree more. As much as I think this forum is amazing, and many things we can benefit on, but things like this annoys me (the "haram" police, and the "Islamic expert", who think he/she knows what they are talking about). Maybe we need to set a limit on what we can discuss on this forum. Probably each of us should just talk to Rashad, and try to work out a solution.

[mokareem]

Onislam is a great source for Fatwa online . you will find both in Arabic & English . Google it now for more data

[shere0901]

We should not give fatwa, if we do not have enough qualification. Otherwise if you we do it continue, we will be lineless anytime from the Islam.

[Kâsva]

Subhan'Allah!

very beneficial post, thank you brother.

[Abz2000]

Yahoo's "Resolved" Question:
is it haraam for a muslim to pray with their shoes on?


"Best" Answer (lololol)

yes it is haraam to pray with your shoes on. The shoes are dirty and the whole point of the washing before prayer is to be clean. imagine wearing shoes that have some dirt on the praying matt.
Think of it, when you wash before prayer, don't you run some water on your feet? what is the point of doing that if your gonna wear shoes over them?

*even if you DO clean the shoes, it is haraam think about it. Shoes are something that you step on dirt with, even if they are clean imagine praying on the prayer matt with something that you step in dirt with. I mean logically my friend, it would be disrespectful to stand before God on a praying matt with your shoes on, clean or not. It is more symbolic. Do you really think it is respectful to stand on the praying matt with the same shoes that once stepped in dirt?

yes it is a ham to pray with shoes on. Salami to you and yours.

Answer by "your bartender" 5 years ago Report Abuse

Fatawah 3:
Doesn't really matter how you pray or which direction you face. there isn't anyone there. There just isn't no goddy type dude and Allah type dude didn't and does'nt exsist either. They're just fables. So i think if anyone really MUST pray then it doesn't make a hoot of difference how it's done. After all, it's really just about making the human being 'feel better'.

Answer by Sister Of The Dark Moon 5 years ago Report Abuse

Hidden somewhere deep away is the answer with daleel:

Here are some Haddis
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) was asked, “Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pray wearing shoes?” He said, “Yes.” (al-Bukhaari, 386; Muslim, 555). This is to be understood as meaning, so long as there is no impurity on the shoes

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri who said: “While the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was leading his companions in prayer, he took off his shoes and placed them to his left. When the people saw that, they took off their shoes too. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) finished his prayer, he asked, ‘What made you take off your shoes?’ They said, ‘We saw you take off your shoes, so we took ours off too.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to me and told me that there was something dirty on them.’ When any one of you comes to the mosque, let him look and if he sees anything dirty on his shoes, let him wipe them and then pray in them.” (Abu Dawood, 650; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 605).
Today roads are very dirty.. People do urine at any place earlier it was not so i think.. So its better to remove the shoe..

Answer by Truth only 5 years ago Report Abuse

I tried to report it but "democratic" yahoo doesn't seem to mind since it has 60+ votes compared to the 20- with daleel.

u know wot the problem is?
Unless u establish khilafah, the only fatwawa u will be bound by is the fatawah (rulings) of the white house and it's puppet kafir and murtaddeen governments, no one will give a **** who's qualified or not and I for one will not feel bound by anyone's fatwah unless they have that authority or at least clear proof with unquestionable evidence undisputed by daleel to the contrary, and even then i'd have to FEEL statisfied that it makes sense since no one will answer for me on the day of judgement. and with no caliph to authorise a jurist (who you are commanded to hear and obey and who you can shift the burden to) u can say hello to king Abdullah and sheikh hasinah's purchased muftis. Even the so called Islamic councils are prone to pressure and political (kafir political) meddling - coz they operate not under the authority of Allah, but under the license or authority of their respected government, be he kafir or murtad.

In closing words, u have hilighted a problem but there is no solution unless u have a bayaa' on your 'unuq.
No point clutching for threads and hoping obama's favourite mufti - who has all the "necessary apparent qualifications" (other than iman) doesn't issue a ruling justifying joining the kafir army to fight against the awliyaa of Allah and the mustad'afeen minal rijaal WA an nisaaa Wal wildaan - who they have "proven" with daleel are terrorists and insurgents worthy of slaughter without mercy.
They can also "prove" with other texts (other than the verses mentioning lut (as)) that it's ok for a bloke to ram another bloke up the ars* - with verses like lana a'maluna WA lakum a'malukum" - no need for any solid daleel or real debate, just the worthless piece of paper they got after exams.
Texts can be twisted to suit many purposes by a shrewd munafiq so don't worry abt qualifications too much, coz most of the sahabah didn't even go to kindergarten, they were given authority by the messenger and the believers,
No caliphate, no valid authority, get it??? You can follow wot u like other than disobey your government.

[Shamal90]

This is very significant issue most people is indulged in it. many people has gone astray as a result of the wrong fatawas online.
thank you for your contribution here.

Shamal A. Abdullah
Assist. Translator
Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq

[elnowihi]

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

[MazharShafiq]

yes it is alright and very true but many people do not understand it.